Choosing the best towel rail for the bathtub

According to the old tradition, left to us from the Soviet times, houses of old construction in the bathroom do not have heating. This is not very pleasant in winter, it is not very cozy in a damp and cool room. Well at least with the advent of hot water supply began to install towel dryers. Simultaneously, with the fulfillment of the main task, drying towels and linen, they heat the room. If you do not yet have any heating in the bathroom, it is worth choosing a towel dryer.

Types and what is better

There are three types of towel dryers:

• Water. They are connected to the heating system or hot water supply. More popular is the option of connecting to the DHW – the break in operation is only a few weeks (for repair and preparation of the system). In case of connection to heating the procedure itself is more complicated (permission is required) and the “dead” season lasts the whole summer period.
• Electric towel dryers. These are autonomous devices that need only electricity to work. The disadvantage of these devices is the increase in electricity consumption.
• Combined. These are dryers that can work from hot water and electricity, that is, they will work all year round without interruption. The disadvantage is a high price.

Which towel dryer is better water or electric? If you have a well-functioning system of hot water supply, it is easy to choose a device – water is definitely required. With it, except for the fuss with connection, no problems. Even pay for the use of heat is not required.

If there is only a heating system already have to decide which of the options is better electric or water. Making a choice, you need to start from the condition and layout of your heating system. If there is a standpipe in the bathroom or very close to it or the possibility to connect, then it may be worth putting a water towel dryer.

It is worth considering a couple more things: you will need permission from the Housing and Utilities Department or its substitute organization, and they do not always issue such permits. So before making a decision, visit this institution and ask if they will give you permission. You can write an application at once. The second point is the quality of your heating. If its power is not enough and the apartment is cold, then hanging another thermal device can only worsen the situation.

So, the choice falls on an electric towel dryer, if there is no DHW or to heating cannot be connected. One more reason – you do not want to bother with connection.

Choosing a water towel dryer

To choose the right towel dryer is a science, and water towel dryer especially. Here the main thing is the shape, size and even the location of bends, and there are more technical characteristics, which must also be taken into account.

Technical characteristics

Working pressure in the DHW system should be in the range from 0,3 atm to 6 atm. Pressure in the centralized heating system strongly depends on the district, but rarely is higher than 10-12 atm (in high-rise buildings). In accordance with these parameters select and water dryers.

Before choosing a towel dryer, pay attention to such an indicator as the maximum temperature. For DHW this figure is rarely higher than 60 °C, for heating few give out 80 °C. From this point of view, all stainless steel dryers are suitable, they have a maximum temperature of about 105-110 °C. Nevertheless, there are emergencies when the water is supplied heated up to a hundred degrees or even higher, so this reserve does not hurt.

Deciding on the shape

Water dryers for towels there are different forms. They can be conditionally divided into several groups:

Choosing a bathroom dryer by shape is both easy and difficult. It is necessary to consider how and where you can install your favorite design. In this case, do not forget that you will have to connect to the riser, which means to pull up to it pipes on the walls. And, most likely, the laying will be hidden, that is, it will be hidden in the wall, which means that it will be necessary to hollow them out or put a false wall.

Selecting the dimensions

Choosing a towel dryer on sizes it is necessary to proceed from available free space for installation. Most of all questions usually causes the selection of sizes of “ladders”. They can be very high. It is worth taking into account the convenience of using this device. Its top can be located at the height of the wrist of your outstretched hand or slightly lower, which is about 1900-2000 mm. It is up to you to determine where the bottom edge will end.

With snakes and U-shaped towel dryers a little easier. Their upper edge is usually placed somewhere at the height of human height. So, all the bars are in the zone of accessibility and do not really interfere.

And it is also worth considering that the size of the towel dryer is also reflected in the location of the entrance holes for connection. The wider or longer the device, the greater the distance will be between the spigots, and this means that without redesigning the branches will not do without.

Materials

The most common material from which water towel dryers are made is stainless steel. But also this metal can be different. Ideally, the brand AISI 304 and its analogs are used (in the table). Dryers made of stainless steel last a long time, as they do not succumb to corrosion, and on their walls do not settle deposits.

Towel dryer made of stainless steel can be with a matte surface or with a mirror shine (the surface of the pipes is polished), there are also painted in enamels of different colors. The most common color among the colored ones is white, but on request you can choose from a fairly wide palette. Specific colors depend on the manufacturer.

There are on the market budget towel dryers made of black steel, usually galvanized. Their service life is quite short, a few years. Their surface can be chrome-plated or painted. In conditions of high humidity in a bathroom both these and other coverings are very short-lived.

There are also copper towel dryers. Along with the fact that they are characterized by good thermal conductivity, are not heavy and aesthetically look, but they have a problem. It is impossible to connect them to the heating or water supply system, if there is no protection of the pipe from contact with water.

So, the best choice of towel dryer by material is stainless steel. There is really no alternative to it yet.

Practical advice on the choice

Theory is good, but operation usually shows all the pros and cons of products. Towel dryers are not an exception. There are many nuances, which one is still better to choose.

What models are better

Let’s start with the choice of models of towel dryers. As you know, there are ladder and simple M and U shaped. These radiators are made from a solid piece of pipe. It is simply bent to the required shape and if the pipe used was of high quality, it will serve for a long time.

Ladders and other complex models are welded. Their service life is determined by the quality of the welded seam, and in most cases, the leak begins precisely in the seams. No matter how bitter it is to admit, but “flow” mainly towel dryers of Russian production. German or any other European country do not suffer from this disease. All business is in welding. Yes, all stainless steel is welded by TIG welding in the environment of inert gases. Only in Europe it is welded with supercharging, because of which the seam is welded from both sides. Domestic manufacturers, in order to save on expensive gas, weld without supercharging. As a result, the seam is welded only on the outside and, with the slightest error in execution, it leaks.

No one says that it leaks in 100%, but they often do. That is, when you buy a domestic “ladder” you are solidly at risk of getting a leak in about a year. The good news is that the warranty period is usually much longer – about 3-5 years, but the warranty is valid only if you installed a firm that has the right to work with engineering networks and you have in hand the act of acceptance of the dryer, signed by a representative of the REU. Thus nobody, by the way, cannot guarantee that the next towel dryer of the same firm will not leak.

Here and it turns out that, approaching to a choice of a water towel dryer from the practical, not from the aesthetic side, it is better to take a simple coil, if U-shaped do not like very much.

What to pay attention to when buying

Having determined with the form, you will need to choose a towel dryer, what kind of firm you want. Here everything is not easy. As they said, German and European factories have proved themselves perfectly. But they have a significant disadvantage – a very high price. Therefore, we mainly have to choose from Russian manufacturers. They are now more than enough and the model range is largely repeated. So how to choose? It is necessary to look at the following parameters:

• Check the geometry. There should be no distortions in the cross-section of the pipe. It should be perfectly round, only in places of bending deformation is allowed. If the shape of the towel dryer is symmetrical, there should also be no deviations in its geometry.
• Find the seal, this is the place where the name of the company and the brand of steel from which the device is made. All self-respecting manufacturers label their products.

If all these criteria converged, you can buy the model you like. Next, it’s a matter of installation.

Choice of electric towel dryers

Choosing a towel dryer that works from electricity is easier. He only needs an electric power supply to work, and he is more or less all right. Especially if there is a stabilizer. Therefore, when choosing an electric dryer, you can approach the choice of model only from an aesthetic point of view and, buy the form that seems the most attractive.

Choice: material, color, size

The body of this device is usually made of stainless steel, filled with coolant. Heating element – TEN, its power consumption is small – a few hundred watts. Since the volume of water in them is small and it is necessary to heat it to a maximum of 60 °C.

More convenient in operation models that have a thermostat. They can change the temperature from 30 to 60 degrees. It is set on the scale by turning the knob, it is maintained in automatic mode. The choice of model in this case is practically not limited by anything. Even welded seams are not a hindrance, the pressure here is stable and if the seam is made qualitatively, it will never leak.

It is worth mentioning more about possible color solutions. Most electric towel dryers come by default without painting. Some manufacturers of the most popular models paint. It can be ordinary white enamel, sometimes colored. Available colors can be bronze, gold, platinum, all this can be with patina, etc. In general, you can find non-standard variants of coloring. Not bad among Russian manufacturers firms Dvin and Argo, Terminus, Sunerja, Trugor.

The choice of sizes is wide. Choose the one that will optimally fit into the design of the bathroom or bathroom.

Features of connection and installation

The electric towel dryer is connected to the usual socket, but since the place of installation is a bathroom with high humidity, the voltage must be supplied through the RCD, which breaks the phase and zero, you also need an automat, you can on one contact. The choice of their electrical parameters depends on what other appliances will be connected to this main line. It is not worth pulling a separate line to the heater due to its low power.

The towel dryer is mounted in any place. Usually the protection class allows you to put it even above the bath (II), but it is hardly worth it. It is inconvenient, and things will get wet. Electric dryer is better to install usually on any free wall. Often so that you can reach it from the bathtub, shower cabin. If the bathroom is combined, you will have to choose. You can put it even close to the bidet or toilet with hygienic shower. By the way, mounting brackets are usually included, so you do not have to invent anything.

Manufacturers

All firms that produce water towel dryers, produce and electric. In the same case, the TEN is installed, the coolant is poured, the ends are sealed. So it is not difficult to find an electric dryer for the bathroom.